The Rise of Hard Rock and Hair Metal

This is part of my Pop Music in the ‘80s series.

The Foundations of Hard Rock and The Road to Excess

The 1970s had already given the world the thunderous sounds of Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and KISS, but as the ‘80s arrived, rock music became bigger, louder, and more theatrical. As an increasing number of bands were filling massive arenas, the modern image of a rock star continued to evolve—these rock stars were flashier, wilder, and unapologetically excessive than ever before.

At the forefront of this transformation was Van Halen. The band’s vocalist David Lee Roth’s dynamic presence proved that the frontman of a rock band was just as important as the music itself, while Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solos turned technical virtuosity into an art form. Rock music in the early ‘80s set the tone for what was to come: an era where rock transcended music and…